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Should we or shouldn't we ?

Should we or shouldn't we ?

Old Feb 9th 2016, 7:49 am
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Default Should we or shouldn't we ?

Hi there,

I,m hoping for some advice and guidance please. I have tried on some other forums but got no help just negativity so hopefully things will go better here !

My hubby and I are getting increasingly frustrated with life in the UK. Our situation at present is this we both work, him full time driver, me part time in admin. I have no overly close family hubby has sisters, brothers and 2 children but they are all independent and healthy at present. We live in a local authority house in a very expensive area of the country so home ownership not an option especially at our ages of 48 & 56. Hubby has some issue with health, high blood pressure and painful arthritis in his feet I am completely healthy at present and hopefully will remain so.

We have some money which was left to me by my mother and are thinking is this the chance to make a move. I know every country and area has its issues and we are realistic but we are not sure if this would be the right move for us. In giving up our house will we be essentially giving up something we can never get back ? We don't necessarily want to buy a property we would be happy to rent but there we would worry about security. Also we would still need to work so what are our options there ? I have enrolled on a TEFL course so I will have that as an option.

These questions are just a few of the many things I have floating around my head but if anyone could give us some good realistic advice or pointers that would be very kind. Just feel its now or never !

Thanks so much
Sara x
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Old Feb 9th 2016, 7:53 am
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

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Old Feb 9th 2016, 8:03 am
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

One reason that you have encountered a lot of negativity is the fact that you will need to work. The unemployment rate in Spain is very high so in order to work you would need to have sought after skills, be fluent in Spanish or know someone who is eager to employ you. I do not want to burst your bubble but that is the way it is at the moment. Also if it did not work out for you here you would have lost your secure housing so if you returned to the UK you would have to rent privately. There is no benefit system for you to tap into if no work is found so you would need to have a reasonable amount of money in order to survive. In addition the Spanish government want you to prove that you are able to maintain yourselves so you either need to have money in the bank or a job.

On a positive note living in Spain is lovely, the people are friendly and life can be very relaxing and enjoyable.

Good luck with your research. There is an abundance of information on this forum so I suggest you search through and also ask us questions.

Rosemary
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Old Feb 9th 2016, 8:13 am
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

As Rosemary has said, Spain is a great place to live, as long as you have the money and don't need to work, or are on pensions. TEFL is something many hundreds of UK expats have done to try and support themselves in Spain, BUT you do need to know the costs of being self employed, that is €250 a month whether you earn anything or not, but this would at least get you into the Spanish Health service, BUT, it's not like the NHS, nothing is free, you have to pay some of the costs of everything, medicines included, and it's not a fixed cost unlike the prescription charges in the UK.
How good is your Spanish? even if you were working in an expat area you would need some to deal with the authorities etc.and the better you are the more chance of getting a job.
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Old Feb 9th 2016, 8:31 am
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

Originally Posted by Saralou67
Hi there, I,m hoping for some advice and guidance please. I have tried on some other forums but got no help just negativity so hopefully things will go better here ! My hubby and I are getting increasingly frustrated with life in the UK. Our situation at present is this we both work, him full time driver, me part time in admin. I have no overly close family hubby has sisters, brothers and 2 children but they are all independent and healthy at present. We live in a local authority house in a very expensive area of the country so home ownership not an option especially at our ages of 48 & 56. Hubby has some issue with health, high blood pressure and painful arthritis in his feet I am completely healthy at present and hopefully will remain so. We have some money which was left to me by my mother and are thinking is this the chance to make a move. I know every country and area has its issues and we are realistic but we are not sure if this would be the right move for us. In giving up our house will we be essentially giving up something we can never get back ? We don't necessarily want to buy a property we would be happy to rent but there we would worry about security. Also we would still need to work so what are our options there ? I have enrolled on a TEFL course so I will have that as an option. These questions are just a few of the many things I have floating around my head but if anyone could give us some good realistic advice or pointers that would be very kind. Just feel its now or never ! Thanks so muchSara x
As the others have said, it's not negativity. The UK is also a great place to live and Spain is no different, but can be a lot harder. Imagine yourself living in the UK with no language skills, less benefits, less money.
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Old Feb 9th 2016, 8:33 am
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

Originally Posted by Moses2013
As the others have said, it's not negativity. The UK is also a great place to live and Spain is no different, but can be a lot harder. Imagine yourself living in the UK with no language skills, less benefits, less money.
... ZERO benefits!
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Old Feb 9th 2016, 8:42 am
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

Really tough one, I'd consider one of you renting a cheap property in Spain for six months, the other remain in their job at home. Over the winter months makes sense, flights and rental cars are more reasonable, and the time can be used to do some groundwork and get a proper 'feel' for life in Spain, at least for one of you. Some people take to it all like a duck to water, others struggle, there's really no way of knowing beforehand.

Not a perfect solution by any means, but not burning bridges by giving up your home makes absolute sense to me, at least until you're both absolutely sure of a permanent move, or as sure as you can be !

I would also draw up a 'cash flow forecast', work out a rough budget of how much you can survive on and for how long, be mindful of fluctuating exchange rate. As Rosemary advised, work will not be easy to come by so you have to realistically plan for that eventuality, give yourselves at least a year's buffer preferably much longer. Also be aware that health insurance could be prohibitive depending on the extent of hubby's BP problems, especially if he's the 56 year old.

Learning Spanish is more difficult the older we get, but not impossible and you have to commit and apply yourselves, not easy. Being able to communicate to a reasonable degree helps immeasurably.

Many hurdles to overcome, but if you plan and manage the transition rather than jumping in, the chances of success are greater. I wish you both the very best of luck.

Last edited by iano; Feb 9th 2016 at 8:45 am.
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Old Feb 9th 2016, 8:51 am
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

Originally Posted by Saralou67
Hi there,

I,m hoping for some advice and guidance please. I have tried on some other forums but got no help just negativity so hopefully things will go better here !

My hubby and I are getting increasingly frustrated with life in the UK. Our situation at present is this we both work, him full time driver, me part time in admin. I have no overly close family hubby has sisters, brothers and 2 children but they are all independent and healthy at present. We live in a local authority house in a very expensive area of the country so home ownership not an option especially at our ages of 48 & 56. Hubby has some issue with health, high blood pressure and painful arthritis in his feet I am completely healthy at present and hopefully will remain so.

We have some money which was left to me by my mother and are thinking is this the chance to make a move. I know every country and area has its issues and we are realistic but we are not sure if this would be the right move for us. In giving up our house will we be essentially giving up something we can never get back ? We don't necessarily want to buy a property we would be happy to rent but there we would worry about security. Also we would still need to work so what are our options there ? I have enrolled on a TEFL course so I will have that as an option.

These questions are just a few of the many things I have floating around my head but if anyone could give us some good realistic advice or pointers that would be very kind. Just feel its now or never !

Thanks so much
Sara x
Spain has over 30% unemployment in those areas where British people like to live

At your age and skill levels you have pretty much no chance of getting a job

Of course you can still come if you are independently wealthy e.g. have half a million pounds in the bank and a good pension
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Old Feb 9th 2016, 9:15 am
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

We all know that want you really want to hear is something along the lines of "it will be perfect for you", "come on over you will have a great life" etc, etc but what you will find on this forum is that people will give you the benefit of their knowledge whether that is negative or positive. We are realistic people who will endeavour to ensure that we give you the facts as are as we are able to and to ensure that we do not encourage people to make huge mistakes. In other words we are honest and truthful about life here, we do not have a tendency to view life through rose tinted glasses and give people false hopes by misinforming them.

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Old Feb 9th 2016, 12:03 pm
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

I suffer from high blood pressure and high cholesterol but the farmacia are happy to give tabs based on your previous uk prescription.

Mine cost about €3:50 for a months worth (for both)

Steve
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Old Feb 9th 2016, 12:10 pm
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

Originally Posted by tebo53
I suffer from high blood pressure and high cholesterol but the farmacia are happy to give tabs based on your previous uk prescription.

Mine cost about €3:50 for a months worth (for both)

Steve
I am also on blood pressure tablets and I when we moved here I tried to buy using my UK prescription details but our chemist said that I needed a prescription from a Spanish doctor.

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Old Feb 9th 2016, 12:39 pm
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

I'm another who's stressed, and taking 1 x BP tab daily. When taking out travel insurance for my frequent trips to Spain was told that 1 x tab didn't affect the premium, but taking multiples did. Higher risk, higher premium, which could apply equally to health insurance I'd imagine.
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Old Feb 9th 2016, 1:18 pm
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

Wow, thanks everyone ! Lots of food for thought here. I wasn't aware the unemployment was such an issue neither myself or hubby are fussy about what we do but it sounds like even these sort of jobs may be unobtainable. We did intend to learn Spanish and if we were to move over we were thinking give it a year to get organised etc etc. Iano's idea is a good one for sure it would certainly be a toe in the water and give us an idea. Also Moses2013 has made me think what it could be like if we can't get work. Sadly we don't have 1/2 million in the bank and what we have got is important to us and as its my Mums legacy I feel very responsible about what I do with it.
I may revert to plan B which is to buy a camper van and just travel around as and when we can not only abroad but around the nicer parts of the UK.
Once again thank you everyone at least any negativity here is constructive not nasty as I have found in other places.

Sara x
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Old Feb 9th 2016, 1:43 pm
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

Originally Posted by Saralou67
Wow, thanks everyone ! Lots of food for thought here. I wasn't aware the unemployment was such an issue neither myself or hubby are fussy about what we do but it sounds like even these sort of jobs may be unobtainable. We did intend to learn Spanish and if we were to move over we were thinking give it a year to get organised etc etc. Iano's idea is a good one for sure it would certainly be a toe in the water and give us an idea. Also Moses2013 has made me think what it could be like if we can't get work. Sadly we don't have 1/2 million in the bank and what we have got is important to us and as its my Mums legacy I feel very responsible about what I do with it.I may revert to plan B which is to buy a camper van and just travel around as and when we can not only abroad but around the nicer parts of the UK.Once again thank you everyone at least any negativity here is constructive not nasty as I have found in other places. Sara x
On a positive note, isn't it great that you can do things like plan B. You have the flexibility with a camper van and it's a really good idea. I know people can get frustrated in the UK (especially winter), but isn't it the same everywhere.


Enjoy what you have in the UK and you could be far worse off.

Last edited by Moses2013; Feb 9th 2016 at 1:45 pm.
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Old Feb 9th 2016, 9:11 pm
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Default Re: Should we or shouldn't we ?

Originally Posted by Saralou67
Hi there,

I,m hoping for some advice and guidance please. I have tried on some other forums but got no help just negativity so hopefully things will go better here !

My hubby and I are getting increasingly frustrated with life in the UK. Our situation at present is this we both work, him full time driver, me part time in admin. I have no overly close family hubby has sisters, brothers and 2 children but they are all independent and healthy at present. We live in a local authority house in a very expensive area of the country so home ownership not an option especially at our ages of 48 & 56. Hubby has some issue with health, high blood pressure and painful arthritis in his feet I am completely healthy at present and hopefully will remain so.

We have some money which was left to me by my mother and are thinking is this the chance to make a move. I know every country and area has its issues and we are realistic but we are not sure if this would be the right move for us. In giving up our house will we be essentially giving up something we can never get back ? We don't necessarily want to buy a property we would be happy to rent but there we would worry about security. Also we would still need to work so what are our options there ? I have enrolled on a TEFL course so I will have that as an option.

These questions are just a few of the many things I have floating around my head but if anyone could give us some good realistic advice or pointers that would be very kind. Just feel its now or never !

Thanks so much
Sara x
Hi Sara, Quite spooky reading your post, almost totally reflects our position a year ago. We are the same age as you two, our children all from former marriages grown up and doing their own thing. I was frustrated at work, and we were increasingly disillusioned with the UK.
We wanted to move to Spain but were never going to find work due to age, lack of language and high unemployment.
Thought of setting up a business, too risky, so we bought a business. Cashed an endowment in and took a little bit from my pension. Rented our house out in the UK and rented a little apartment out here.
I wont paint a rosy picture because it was tough and we have struggled, not with the business but just the whole upheaval and my wife was homesick. We are alot more settled now and business is good.
We decided we needed to be somewhere on the tourist map and work like hell for 6 months and have 6 months a little easier.
All the signs look good for a busy season here in Mallorca so hopefully by the end of the summer we can say we did the right thing.
Life is all about experiences and all our friends in the UK have said how much they admire us for giving it a go.
What I would say is as tough as it has been some of the rewards are immense.
Better environment and climate to live in. A far healthier lifestyle and some wonderful memories in the few months we have been here.
We decide to give it a go and if it went pear shaped so what we lost a few thousand pounds but I would not be sat there in 10 years time saying I wonder what would have happened if we he moved to Spain?
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